Active control sound generator

ABSTRACT

An active control sound generator apparatus may include a housing disposed at an end of an intake duct in a vehicle, having an intake port at an end, and having a driving unit case thereon, a control actuator disposed at a side in the driving unit case, a valve plate disposed in the intake port and connected to a rotary shaft, wherein the valve plate selectively opens or closes the intake port, a control unit including a position sensing wheel disposed at an end of the rotary shaft of the valve plate, in the driving unit case to measure a rotation amount of the valve plate, and a driving gear assembly engaged with the valve plate and the rotary shaft, in the driving unit case, and reducing and transmitting torque of the control actuator to the rotary shaft.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0147800 filed on Dec. 17, 2012, the entire contents of which isincorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an active control sound generator. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to an active control soundgenerator that controls tone in accordance with the RPM of an engine andload conditions of a vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, as noise generated when a vehicle travels, there are variousnoises such as engine noise, friction noise due to rolling friction intraveling, flow noise due to air flow.

In order to solve such a problem, it is possible to preventdeterioration of comport for passengers in vehicles by mounting anexpensive soundproofing material in the vehicles.

However, since most noises of vehicles are flow noise and noise such asbooming sound at a specific bandwidth due to pulsation generated by anengine etc., it is very difficult to completely block the noises in thevehicles.

A resonator was mounted in vehicles in the related art to remove thebooming noise due to pulsation, but the resonator has an effect only onremoval of noise at a specific frequency band, such that there is alimit in removing well the noise generated at the intake system of avehicle engine.

In contrast, sound intentionally generated at a predetermined frequencyband can improve comfort for drivers.

For example, a specific bike includes components and is controlled togenerate sound improving riding comfort of a rider by making exhaustsound so that sound at a specific frequency band is output.

Further, for a vehicle too, when a vehicle travels in a sport mode, thatis, an operation mode for providing traveling feel like in traveling ofa sports vehicle, a technology of controlling the suspension, theshifting way, and output sound is used.

However, the technology of the related art has a problem in that theentire noise level increases, when a sporty tone increases, and themaximum of the sporty tone is limited by the entire noise level.

Further, a common sound generator, which can perform ON/OFF control asposition control of a motor, has a problem in that linear tone change isimpossible because the position change of a valve to the noise featurechange in ON/OFF control is fast.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section isonly for enhancement of understanding of the general background of theinvention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form ofsuggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to aperson skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing anactive control sound generator having advantages of being able toperform active control because it can perform control for each ofdriving conditions without a specific device, and having improvedsealing performance.

In an aspect of the present invention, an active control sound generatorapparatus may include a housing disposed at an end of an intake duct ina vehicle, having an intake port at an end, and having a driving unitcase thereon, a control actuator disposed at a side in the driving unitcase, a valve plate disposed in the intake port and connected to arotary shaft, wherein the valve plate selectively opens or closes theintake port, a control unit including a position sensing wheel disposedat an end of the rotary shaft of the valve plate, in the driving unitcase to measure a rotation amount of the valve plate, and a driving gearassembly engaged with the valve plate and the rotary shaft, in thedriving unit case, and reducing and transmitting torque of the controlactuator to the rotary shaft.

The control actuator is a servo motor of which the number of revolutionsand rotation direction is controlled.

The valve plate may include a disc, and a sealing pad mounted on an edgeof the disc.

The disc is made of plastic and the sealing pad is made of rubber.

The valve plate is formed by double injection molding of the disc andthe sealing pad on the edge of the disc.

The disc may include a plurality of protrusions integrally protrudingalong the edge of the disc such that fastening force between the discand the sealing pad of the valve plate is ensured by the protrusions.

The drive gear assembly may include a driving gear fixed to a drivingshaft of the control actuator, a worm wheel fixed to the rotary shaft ofthe valve plate, a horizontal shaft disposed between the driving gearand the worm wheel in the driving unit case, and supported by thedriving unit case, a driven gear fixed to the horizontal shaft andengaged with the driving gear, and a worm connected with the driven gearby a connecting portion, on the horizontal shaft, and engaged with theworm wheel.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention can perform activecontrol because the driving gear assembly is connected with the controlmotor and control for each of operations is possible by the control unitrecognizing APS and RPM signals.

Further, since the valve plate is manufactured by double injectionmolding, rigidity and sealing performance are improved.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an active control sound generatoraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of theactive control sound generator according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a valve plate used in the active control soundgenerator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the valve plate of FIG. 3 which isdisassembled.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. Thespecific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein,including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations,and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intendedapplication and use environment.

In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent partsof the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) willbe described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that the present description is not intended to limit theinvention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, theinvention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be describedhereinafter in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The sizes and thicknesses of the configurations shown in the drawingsare provided selectively for the convenience of description, such thatthe present invention is not limited to those shown in the drawings andthe thicknesses are exaggerated to make some parts and regions clear.

Further, parts that are not related to the description are not drawn tomake exemplary embodiments of the present invention clear.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an active control sound generatoraccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 isa perspective view showing the internal configuration of the activecontrol sound generator according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, FIG. 3 is a front view of a valve plate used in theactive control sound generator according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the valve plate ofFIG. 3 which is disassembled.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, an active control sound generator 100according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes ahousing 110, a control motor 120, a valve plate 130, a control unit 140,and a driving gear assembly 150.

The housing 110 is disposed at an end of an intake duct 200 and has anintake port 111 at an end. A driving unit case 113 is disposed on thehousing 110.

The control motor 120 is disposed at a side in the driving unit case 113and may be implemented by a servo motor of which the number ofrevolutions and the rotation direction can be controlled.

The valve plate 130 is disposed at the intake port 111 by a rotary shaft131.

The valve plate 130 includes a disc 133 made of plastic and a sealingpad 135 made of rubber on the edge of the disc 133.

The valve plate 130 is formed by double injection molding of the disc133 and the sealing pad 135 on the edge of the disc 133.

In the valve plate 130, the fastening force between the disc 133 and thesealing pad 135 is ensured by a plurality of protrusions 137 integrallyprotruding along the edge of the disc 133.

The control unit 130 is disposed in the driving unit case 113 andincludes a position sensing wheel 141 disposed at the end of the rotaryshaft 131 of the valve plate 130.

The driving gear assembly 150 is disposed between the control motor 120and the rotary shaft 131 of the valve plate 130, in the driving unitcase 113, and reduces and transmits revolution of the control motor 120to the rotary shaft 131.

The driving gear assembly 150 includes a driving gear 151, a worm wheel153, a horizontal shaft 155, a driven gear 157, and a worm 159.

The driving gear 151 is fitted on the driving shaft 121 of the controlmotor 120 and the worm wheel 153 is fitted on the rotary shaft 131 ofthe valve plate 130.

The horizontal shaft 155 is disposed between the driving gear 151 andthe worm wheel 153 and supported by the driving unit case 113.

The driven gear 157 is rotatably mounted on the horizontal shaft 155 andengaged with the driving gear 151.

The worm 159 is connected with the driven gear 157 by a connectionportion 160, on the horizontal shaft 155, and engaged with the wormwheel 153.

In the active control sound generator 100 having the configurationdescribed above, a plurality of control maps is stored in the controlunit 140 and the operation can be controlled in accordance with thecontrol map selected on the basis of the tone selected by a user. Thatis, the opening angle of the valve plate according to the RPM of theengine is stored in the control map selected by the user and the controlunit 140 controls the opening angle of the valve plate 130 by drivingthe control motor 120 on the basis of a signal from an integral magneticsensor on the rotary shaft 131 of the valve plate 130.

The opening angle of the valve plate 130 according to APS and RPM etc.may be stored in the maps stored in the control unit 140 and the openingangle of the valve plate 130 may be set in advance through a test.

The active control sound generator 100 having the configuration canchange the position of the valve plate 130 almost linearly close to aline in accordance with RPM.

The valve plate 130 formed by double injection molding of the plasticdisc and the rubber sealing pad can ensure sealing performance againstlines in the close status.

Further, the active control sound generator 100 according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention can perform active controlbecause the driving gear assembly 150 is connected with the controlmotor 120 and control for each of operations is possible by operatingthe control unit 140 recognizing APS and RPM signals.

Further, since the valve plate 130 is manufactured by double injectionmolding, rigidity and sealing performance are improved.

For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appendedclaims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner” and “outer”, are used todescribe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to thepositions of such features as displayed in the figures.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain certain principles of the invention and their practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make andutilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as wellas various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An active control sound generator apparatuscomprising: a housing disposed at an end of an intake duct in a vehicle,having an intake port at an end, and having a driving unit case thereon;a control actuator disposed at a side in the driving unit case; a valveplate disposed in the intake port and connected to a rotary shaft,wherein the valve plate selectively opens or closes the intake port; acontrol unit including a position sensing wheel disposed at an end ofthe rotary shaft of the valve plate, in the driving unit case to measurea rotation amount of the valve plate; and a driving gear assemblyengaged with the valve plate and the rotary shaft, in the driving unitcase, and reducing and transmitting torque of the control actuator tothe rotary shaft.
 2. The generator apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecontrol actuator is a servo motor of which the number of revolutions androtation direction is controlled.
 3. The generator apparatus of claim 1,wherein the valve plate includes: a disc; and a sealing pad mounted onan edge of the disc.
 4. The generator apparatus of claim 3, wherein thedisc is made of plastic and the sealing pad is made of rubber.
 5. Thegenerator apparatus of claim 3, wherein the valve plate is formed bydouble injection molding of the disc and the sealing pad on the edge ofthe disc.
 6. The generator apparatus of claim 3, wherein the discincludes a plurality of protrusions integrally protruding along the edgeof the disc such that fastening force between the disc and the sealingpad of the valve plate is ensured by the protrusions.
 7. The generatorapparatus of claim 1, wherein the drive gear assembly includes: adriving gear fixed to a driving shaft of the control actuator; a wormwheel fixed to the rotary shaft of the valve plate; a horizontal shaftdisposed between the driving gear and the worm wheel in the driving unitcase, and supported by the driving unit case; a driven gear fixed to thehorizontal shaft and engaged with the driving gear; and a worm connectedwith the driven gear by a connecting portion, on the horizontal shaft,and engaged with the worm wheel.